Thomson

It’s a heck of a way to run a pre-election campaign. On the eve of an expected election, politicians usually spend their time playing up good news, downplaying the bad, shaking hands and kissing babies.

Detroit Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist skates against the visiting Edmonton Oilers on March 14, 2014. Nyquist is the latest Wings prospect who is flourishing as the team hunts down a playoff spot.

Photograph by: Gregory Shamus
, Getty Images

EDMONTON — The first thing Gustav Nyquist, the hottest thing on ice, said when asked about blowing past The Human Eraser, Zdeno Chara, for a highlight-reel goal was “I think he was caught a little flat-footed.”

Smart thing to say. Chara has size 12 skates, and he might use them to boot Nyquist’s arse next time he sees him. This was not Z’s finest moment as the six-foot-nine, 255-pound Boston Bruins captain came off the bench and was in no-man’s land in the middle of the ice when the five-foot-10, 185-pound Detroit Red Wings winger sailed by Chara for the winning goal — his 23rd in the last two months.

Guaranteed, there were a chorus of “OK, how far back in the draft was this Nyquist taken?”

The prevailing opinion is the Red Wings mine the NHL draft better than anybody else, considering where they pick every June — no first selection higher than 19th overall (Jakub Kindl in 2005) in the last 15 years. Kindl is largely a third-pairing defenceman with detractors. “This Kindl doesn’t read that well,” said one pro scout, when asked why the Czech hadn’t made bigger NHL strides.

The criticism on Kindl is a tad harsh, but for every Kindl, the Wings trot out a Jonathan Ericsson, the Swedish Olympic defenceman currently out with a busted finger. He was the last player taken (291st) in the 2002 draft. Then again, the Wings also took Jesper Samuelsson and Francois Senez with their last picks in other drafts, and I don’t see them on their roster today. So they make mistakes, like everybody does.

On the other hand …

“Their best prospect defenceman isn’t (Xavier) Ouellet or (Ryan) Sproul (second-rounders). It’s that (Alexei) Marchenko (205th pick in 2011),” said another pro scout. Marchenko, 22, currently in Grand Rapids, played in the AHL all-star game this year. He’s out while recovering from ankle surgery, but in his first North American season, the right-handed shooting defenceman has already played an NHL game.

But the Wings of today, suffering through their worst injury-plagued season in many years, have been able to change on the fly courtesy players they drafted: Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Tomas Jurco, Riley Sheahan.

“(Red Wings GM) Ken Holland’s draft philosophy is to get two players out of every draft (to the NHL), doesn’t matter if it’s first round or fifth or sixth,” former Calgary Flames GM Craig Button said. “They draft players who can skate, with skill but then they become part of a group ... They throw them all in the mix. Some are going to make it, some aren’t.”

The star is Nyquist, though. He’s got some Datsyuk in him. That goal he scored a couple of weeks ago where he got a breakaway, was hooked, the puck bounced toward the boards and in one motion he whirled and scored from behind the goal-line on Tampa’s sprawled Ben Bishop was incredible stuff.

“The thing about the Wings,” said a scout from another organization, “is their (drafted) players all buy in to what it’s going to take to get to the NHL.”

Nyquist, a product of the 2008 draft, is the son of a surgeon and an architect who went to school at the University of Maine, and is a dazzling talent at 24.

“Think about it in Detroit — they had Yzerman and Fedorov. Then they transitioned to Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Now, they’ve got Nyquist and Tatar,” Button said.

“I remember one play Nyquist had against us ... a two-on-one where one of our defencemen made a helluva diving play and he just spun away and put the puck right on the guy’s tape for a goal,” said OKC coach Todd Nelson, who saw Nyquist in the playoffs on a line with Tatar and Joakim Andersson. “When Chicago rallied to beat Detroit in the playoffs, they sent them all down to Grand Rapids. Not good for us.”

The incandescent Datsyuk has just returned after battling a bad knee before the Olympics and in Sochi. The captain Zetterberg, who had back surgery after the Olympics for a disc problem, is just starting to skate. If Detroit makes the playoffs and plays the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, it’s a matchup the Wings could win.

The constant over the years in successfully drafting Europeans has been scout Hakan Andersson, of course,

“Hakan’s also said ‘they listen to me, And (even) if I make mistakes,’” Button said.

It’s the price of doing business, but the Wings don’t make that many at the draft.

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.